Leather suppling machines



Dec. 30, 1969 J. VAN E K- LEATHER:SUPPLING MACHINES Filed July 10, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2' INVENTOR /O 5 9 05/7 6 BY MW w United States Patent LEATHER SUPPLING MACHINES Josef Vanit, Gottwaidov, Czechoslovakia, assignor to SVIT, Narodni podnik, Gottwaldov, Czechoslovakia Filed July 10, 1968, Ser. No. 743,888 Claims priority, application Czechoslovakia, July 14, 167, 5,162/67 Int. (31. C141) 1/40 U5. (El. 69-33 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A leather-staking and/0r suppling machine wherein leather is worked so as to be stretched and softened. A feed means of the machine feeds the leather in a given plane while the leather is worked, and a pair of rows of discs are situated on opposite sides of this plane, with the discs of one row respectively aligned with the (llSCS of the other row to form pairs of aligned discs having peripheries which press against the leather dur- Background of the invention The present invention relates to leather-working machines.

More particularly, the invention relates to machines for suppling leather so as to soften and stretch same.

Further, the present invention relates to a staking machine capable of Working the leather during feeding of the leather through the machine.

Most of the known suppling staking machines substantially simulate hand-suppling, for example, by pulling the leather over a knife blade. A typical example of a machine of this type is one which includes suppling jacks. Machines of this type, which are obsolete at present, had a considerable advantage in that they enabled all marginal and end portions of the leather to be suppled. However, the disadvantages of these machines were their low output, the danger to which the operators were subjected, and the great possibility of damaging the leather as by tearing the same.

There are also known machines which operate according to the principle of passing the leather between pressing elements and a soft resilient pad. The pressing elements are arranged as discs on a shaft or as bladed cylinders having helical blades of low or high pitch, or they have pins which are embedded in a cylinder or a plate.

Still other known suppling machines have a cylinder provided with a set of rings which engage spaces between rings of an opposed cylinder. The spaces between the rings are filled with resilient material. This relatively simple through-feed type of machine is unsatisfactory because stripes resulting from the pressure of the rings remain on the finished leather, and in addition the leather is not satisfactorily stretched.

The most efficient through-feed type of suppling machines which are known and of practical utility are those where the leather is transported through the working space between a pair of resilient conveyors. The leather is worked by a system of interengaging pegs located on both sides of the conveyors and vibrating against each 'ice other. Such machine has a possibility of high output in the supplying of sides of leather and pigskins. It is not suitable, however, for lighter types of leather and for leathers which have a light finish such as, for example, aniline leather, because the peg marks remain on the finished leather. The system of pegs stretches the leather in all directions, but such an operation is not suitable, for example, in the case of kid leather which must be stretched in a predetermined direction from the line of the backbone to the side edges. A further disadvantage of these lmown machines is that they create an undesirably large amount of noise during operation. The noise of such machines is at such level that they must be installed in separated locations having, for example, suitable sound installation.

Summary of the invention It is accordingly a primary object of the present invention to provide a suppling machine Which will avoid the above drawbacks.

In particular, it is an object of the invention to provide a suppling machine capable of working the leather as it is fed through the machine.

In addition, it is an object of the invention to provide a suppling machine wherein discs which engage and work the leather can be adjusted so as to achieve dilferent types of leather-working.

It is another object of the invention to provide a machine of the referred to type which is safe and has a high output.

Also, it is an object of the invention to provide a suppling machine which is composed of simple parts that are very reliable in operation and lend themselves to an easy convenient adjustability for changing the types of operations, which are provided by the machine.

In accordance with the invention, the supplying machine has a feed means which feeds leather through the machine while the leather is situated in a predetermined plane. A pair of rows of discs are situated on opposite sides of this plane and engage the leather at the peripheries of the discs for working the leather. The discs of one row are respectively aligned with the discs of the other row to form pairs of aligned discs with the peripheries of each pair of discs pressing against the leather as it is fed by the feed means. A pair of driving roll means are also situated respectively on opposite sides of the plane in which the leather is moved by the feed means. This pair of driving roll means are spaced from the latter plane and respectively engage the rows of discs for rotating the latter so that the discs are driven in this way. A support means supports the discs for swinging movement with respect to axes which are perpendicular to the plane in which the leather is located and which respectively pass through the centers of the discs. The configuration of the driving roll means is such that by engagement with the discs they control the inclinations thereof so as to control the treatment of the leather in this way.

Brief description of the drawings The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings which form part of this application and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates in a schematic partly sectional transverse elevation one embodiment of a suppling machine according to the invention, the discs of this embodiment having different inclinations from one disc to the next;

FIG. 2 is a schematic partly sectional view of the machine of FIG. 1, the section being taken in a plane which is transverse to the plane of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows in elevation another embodiment of the machine wherein the discs are of a constant inclination; and

3 FIG. 4 is a transverse partly sectional schematic elevation of a further embodiment of a suppling machine wherein the leather-working discs are maintained at zero inclination.

Description of preferred embodiments Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, the suppling machine illustrated includes a frame 1 fixedly carrying a pair of opposed parallel side walls 2 and 3.

A feed means is provided for feeding leather through the machine while situating the leather in a predetermined plane. The feed means includes a pair of rotary screws 6 and 7. Each of these screws is supported for rotary movement at its opposed ends by a pair of bearings 4 and 5 carried by the side walls 2 and 3. At the left part of the frame, as viewed in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the shafts of the rotary feed screws 6 and 7 extend through and beyond the frame 1. The shaft of the feed screw 6 carries a pulley l0 driven by belt 11 from a pulley 9, the latter being driven by a motor 8, while a pair of nonillustrated gears are fixed on the shafts of the screws 6 and 7 and mesh with each other and thus provide simultaneous rotation of the feed screws 6 and 7 in opposite directions. The screws 6 and 7 rotate in a clockwise and counterclockwise direction, respectively, to feed the leather downwardly. It will be noted that each of the feed screws 6 and 7 has on opposite sides of a central region thereof screw portions of opposite inclinations in that one of these screw portions is a lefthand thread while the other is a right-hand thread. The profiles of the helical projection forming the feed screw part of the screws 6 and 7 can be identical for both of the screws or may have different shapes.

The side walls 2 and 3 carry above the feed means 6, 7 a rectangular frame 14 which together with suitable bearings and the like, referred to below, forms a support means to support a plurality of working discs 16. Each disc 16 is supported for rotary movement in an elongated forked member 15. The entire frame 14 is piovtally supported at its side arms in a pair of coaxial bearings 12 and 13 fixed to the frame 1, with the frame 14 being fixed to the side walls 2 and 3 so that the entire assembly of these side walls together with the frame 14, the structure carried thereby, and the feed screws 6 and 7 can be adjustably situated at a suitable inclination such as that indicated in FIG. 2.

The front and rear elongated arms of the frame 14 carry rows of bearings 17. Pins 18 fixed to and extending from the forked members 15 are slidably received in the bearings 17, so that in this way the support means formed by the frame 14 and the above referred to structure carried thereby supports the discs 16 for swinging movement about axes perpendicular to a plane in which the leather is fed by the feed means 6, 7 and passing through the centers of the discs 16.

As is apparent from FIG. 2, the discs 16 are arranged in rows respectively situated on opposite sidesof the plane in which the leather is fed by the feed means 6, 7. The rowsof the discs 16 are arranged in such a way that any disc in one row is aligned with the disc in the other row so as to form pairs of aligned discs 16 the peripheries of which press against the leather as it is fed by the feed means 6, 7. The discs 16 may be made of metal, or one of each pair of aligned discs may be made of rubber. The arrows at the upper parts of FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 indicate the direction of a straight downward movement of the leather during treatment thereof, while the angles 0: indicate in FIGS. 1 and 3 the inclinations of the working discs 16 with respect to the direction of movement of the leather.

As may be seen from FIG. 2, the outer ends of the pins 18 distant from the discs 16 carry extensions 19 which extend upwardly beyond the front and rear arms of the frames and which are fixed to the outer ends of springs 20 that are connected at their inner ends to pegs 20' extending upwardly from the front and rear arms of the frame 14. In this way the springs 20 serve to urge each pair of aligned discs 16 toward each other, and also to urge the peripheries of the disc into engagement with the surfaces of a pair of driving roll means 22 (FIG. it and 21, 21 (FIGS. 3 and 4).

Thus, in the case of FIGS. 3 and 4 there are a pair of driving roll means 21, each driving roll means being in the form of a single elongated roll of cylindrical configuration and constant diameter. The roll 21' of FIG. 41 is intended to be of a smaller diameter than the roll 21 of FIG. 3. In the case of FIG. 1 each of the pair of driving roll means 22 is in the form of a pair of tapered rolls 22 which have opposite tapers. The pair of driving roll means of each embodiment are respectively situated on opposite sides of and spaced from the plane in which the leather is fed by the feed means 6, 7, and frictionally engage the peripheries of the rows of discs 16 at the side of the latter opposite to the feed means 6, 7. During the rotary movement of the pair of driving roll means, the discs 16 are rotated due to frictional transmission of rotary movement of the driving roll means to the discs.

As is apparent from FIG. 2, the left and right driving roll means respectively turn in counterclockwise and clockwise directions, so that the left row of the discs 16 all turn simultaneously in a clockwise direction while the right row of the discs 16 of FIG. 2 all turn simultaneously in a counterclockwise direction. Each driving roll means has a pair of opposed end journals supported for rotary movement in a pair of bearings 25 and 26, respectively, which bearings are supported in any suitable way by the side "walls 2 and 3, while brackets 24 also carried by the side walls 2 and 3 support manually turnable adjusting screws 23 which coact with the bearings 25 and 26 for adjusting the positions of the pairs of guiding roll means.

As will be seen from the right end portions of FIGS. l, 3 and 4, a motor 28 through a suitable sprocket wheel drives a chain 27 which in turn drives a sprocket 29 fixed to the shaft of one of the driving roll means. The other driving roll means of each embodiment is interconnected by suitable gears with the driven driving roll means so that the simultaneous opposite directions of rotation indicated in FIG. 2 is achieved. FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 show a gear 30 which is coaxially aligned with the sprocket wheel 29 and meshes with a second gear on the other driving roll.

As is indicated in FIG. 2, the entire working area of the suppling machine is covered by a pair of guards 52 which have inner vertical wall portions spaced from each other and defining a gap through which the leather is fed downwardly across the plane in which it is moved by the feed means 6, 7.

The above described structure operates as follows:

The leather which is to be worked is introduced into the machine by being passed downwardly through the gap defined between the guards 31 and 32 (see FIG. l). The leather will enter between the rows of discs 16 to be clamped therebetween. These discs are rotated by the driving roll means 21 or 22. As the leather passes between the rows of discs 16 the leather is stretched in accordance with the inclination of the discs 16 with respect to the path of movement of the leather. This inclination provides a continuous stretching of the leather in a direction from the middle to the outer side edges throughout the entire width of the leather.

During its continued downward movement the leather is received between the pair of feed screws 6, 7 and t8 smoothly pulled by frictional engagement with the outermost portions of the helical projections of the feed screws. These helical projections exert a pull also from the center toward the ends of the screws during the rotary movement of the latter. Thus, at every point of the leather, the leather will be pulled along the several helical projections of the feed screws so that it is suppled and at the same time stretched to the maximum extent. The machine of the invention can be advantageously used for ironing leather in the case Where the rotary speed of the feed screws 6, 7 is on the order of at least eight times greater than the circumferential speed of the pair of rows of the discs 16.

It will be seen that with the structure of the invention the feed roll means operate not only to drive the rotary leather-working discs 16, but in addition control the inclination thereof. In the case of FIG. 1 where each feed roll means has a pair of sections of oppositely tapered configuration, the end discs of each row will have the maximum inclination, and the next inclination will gradually diminish from one disc to the other. At the center of each row of discs of FIG. 1 the discs have the minimum inclination. It is to be noted that in each row of discs one half of the number of discs are inclined oppositely to the other half.

When using a cylindrical driving roll 21 as shown, for instance, in FIG. 3, one half of the discs 16 of each row will also have an inclination opposite to the other half of the discs of the same row on opposite sides of the center of the row. However, in the this case, because of the cylindrical configuration of the roll 21 which may be made in one piece for such a construction, the inclinations of all of the discs are equal.

By providing a feed roll means 21 as shown in FIG. 4 which has a diameter somewhat smaller than that of the roll means of FIG. 3, it is possible for the discs 16 to have a zero inclination Where they are respectively situated in planes parallel to the direction of movement of the leather. In this case, the planes in which the discs 16 are situated are perependicular to the axis about which each driving roll means 21 rotates.

A particular advantage derived from the suppling machine of the invention is its noiseless operation. An even more important advantage resides in the improved working of the leather. The structure of relatively light leathers makes smooth processing thereof difiicult, particularly in the regions of margins and offals, but with the machine of the invention it becomes economically feasible to treat light leathers and offals.

The machine of the invention can earily be adapted so as to combine several operations into the machine.

I claim:

1. In a leather-suppling machine, feed means for feeding a sheet of leather in a given plane, rows of discs respectively situated on opposite sides of said plane for working the leather with edges of said discs as the leather is fed by said feed means, the discs of one row being respectively aligned with the discs of the other row to form pairs of aligned discs, with each pair of discs having peripheries which press against and work the leather as it is fed by said feed means, and a pair of driving roll means also situated on opposite sides of said plane, spaced from the latter, and engaging the peripheries of said rows of discs, respectively, for rotating said discs so as to drive the latter.

2. The combination of claim 1 and wherein a spring means coacts with each disc for urging the latter toward said plane.

3. The combination of claim 1 and wherein a support means supports said discs respectively for swinging movement about axes perpendicular to said plane and passing through the centers of said discs, said pair of driving roll means engaging the peripheries of said discs for controlling the inclination thereof.

4. The combination of claim 3 and wherein said pair of driving roll means are both cylindrical and have a diameter which situates said discs all in planes perpendicular to the axes of said driving roll means as well as perpendicular to the plane in which the leather is fed by said feed means.

5. The combination of claim 3 and wherein said drive roll means are cylindrical and situate said discs respectively at equal inclinations, the discs in each row forming equal number of discs from the center to the end of each row, and said equal numbers of discs in each row being oppositely inclined.

6. The combination of claim 3 and wherein each driving roll means is composed of a pair of oppositely tapered elongated portions each of which engages one half the number of discs in each row, so that one half the number of discs in each row are inclined oppositely to the other half and so that the discs of each row have a different inclination from one to the next.

7. The combination of claim 2 and wherein a support means supports all of said discs for respective swinging movement about axes perpendicular to said plane and respectively extending through the centers of said discs.

8. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said feed means is situated beneath said discs and said pair of driving roll means are respectively situated over said discs, so that said rows of discs are situated between said feed means and driving rolls.

9. The combination of claim 8 and wherein said feed means includes a pair of rotary feed screws each of which has rightand left-hand threads.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6,710 9/1849 Hershey 6933 2,109,739 3/1938 Wayland 69-34 2,664,733 1/1954 Campbell 6934 2,956,427 10/1960 Blatz 6933 FOREIGN PATENTS 118,440 8/1918 Great Britain.

ALFRED R. GUEST, Primary Examiner 

